PulseSharing controls
The default sharing scope, whether sharing outside the organisation is allowed, and administrator restrictions.
A Pulse note is visible only to the person who created it until it is shared. This article covers changing the scope of an individual note, changing the default for new notes, and setting a ceiling across an organisation as an administrator. It also sets out the legal points to check when sharing a note outside your organisation.
Enterprise plan
Sharing scope is changed from the desktop app (macOS / Windows). The web version can show the scope of an existing note, but workspace-wide settings are configured by an administrator in the desktop app.
The three levels of sharing scope
| Setting | Who can view it |
|---|---|
| Private | only the person who created it |
| Within the workspace | anyone authenticated with a workspace email address |
| Anyone with the link | anyone given the link. It can be passed outside the organisation |
These three levels are the same on every plan. A newly created note starts out private.
Changing an individual note's scope
Open the note
Open the note whose scope you want to change.
Click the access indicator
The current access level is shown at the top right. Click it to open the scope options.
Choose a scope
Choose one of the three levels above. To show it only to particular people, invite them there and then by email address.
The current access level shown, and, once clicked, the scope options together with a field for inviting members.
Changing the default for new notes
The default is the scope a newly created note starts in. Out of the box it is private. On the free, Personal and Team plans a user can change their own default; on the Enterprise plan an administrator can additionally set a ceiling for the whole organisation.
Free, Personal and Team plans: changing your own default
Open settings
Open Settings in the desktop app.
Choose Preferences
Choose Preferences from the menu on the left.
Choose the default link sharing
Under Data and sharing, choose one of the three levels for default link sharing.
This setting applies only to notes created after the change. The scope of notes already created does not change retrospectively. To make existing notes private in bulk, change them one at a time or use the Enterprise workspace setting.
Enterprise plan: setting a ceiling across the organisation
Administrators can set a ceiling on the sharing scope permitted across the workspace.
Open workspace settings
From Settings, open Workspace, then General.
Choose the ceiling in the sharing settings
Choose one of the three in the table below.
Check the scope of application
Once saved, it applies to every member of the workspace.
| Option | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Allow public links | sharing is enabled for all notes and folders. The links generated are public and can be passed outside the organisation |
| Within the workspace only | sharing is enabled, but only people authenticated with a workspace email address can view |
| Restricted access | no share links are generated. Viewing requires an individual invitation |
This Enterprise setting applies retrospectively to existing notes and folders as well. Once set, individual members cannot choose a scope beyond the ceiling. That differs from changing the default on the free, Personal and Team plans, which is not retrospective.
- before deciding the ceiling, you have checked that no note currently shared by public link contains anything that must not leave the organisation
- you have told members that the ceiling has changed
- you saved it understanding that it applies retrospectively to existing notes
Changing from “restricted access” to “allow public links” puts existing notes and folders into a state where public links can be generated for them. Before loosening an organisation-wide setting, check that they contain nothing that must not leave the organisation.
What administrators can and cannot see
| Subject | Can an administrator view it |
|---|---|
| A member's private notes | no |
| Notes added to the team space | according to the space's permissions |
| Organisation-wide sharing settings | they can be set, and changes apply to all members |
| Usage (number of notes created and so on) | yes |
| Audit logs including note bodies | bodies are not included |
An administrator's powers operate in the direction of narrowing sharing. Setting a ceiling never makes members' private notes visible to an administrator.
Where this sits among security control measures
The settings above correspond to two of the security control measures required by the Act on the Protection of Personal Information. For the whole picture, see Our security standards.
| Category | What it corresponds to |
|---|---|
| Organisational security measures | an administrator setting and maintaining the scope of who may view which notes |
| Technical security measures | restricting access by those without permission, technically, through the sharing scope setting |
Personnel security measures (training and confidentiality obligations), physical security measures, and understanding the external environment are described as measures on UNCHAIN, Inc.'s side in Our security standards.
What to check before sharing outside your organisation
Providing personal data to a third party requires the individual's prior consent as a rule. Provision accompanying delegation, provision accompanying a business succession, and joint use meeting the stated requirements are treated as not involving a “third party”.
Meeting notes and transcripts contain personal information such as attendees' names, organisations and what they said. Sharing that with someone outside your own organisation can constitute provision to a third party. The following three are treated differently under the rules, so keep them distinct.
| Form of sharing | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Sharing within your own workspace | handling within the organisation; not provision to a third party. Check it falls within the purposes of use you have specified |
| UNCHAIN, Inc. holding the data | UNCHAIN, Inc. acts as a party to whom handling has been delegated; not provision to a third party |
| Giving a share link to someone outside the organisation, or sending to an external service through an integration | the recipient is a separate party, not UNCHAIN, Inc.'s processor. This can constitute provision to a third party |
Where the third case applies, responsibility for securing lawfulness rests with whoever did the sharing — usually the user's employer. Before sharing, check it against your own personal data handling rules and that it falls within the purposes of use you have specified. For integrations with external services, see also Integrations overview.
Handling public links
A note shared as “anyone with the link” can be forwarded by the recipient to anyone at all. UNCHAIN, Inc. has no means of controlling where it goes. For notes from client meetings, recruitment interviews and meetings with external attendees, avoid this setting and use a named invitation or “within the workspace”.
To stop public links being used across an organisation, choose “restricted access” or “within the workspace only” in the Enterprise workspace settings, so that individual members cannot exceed the ceiling.
What remains after you stop sharing
Setting the scope back to private stops the link being viewable from that point on. If the recipient copied or exported the note's content while it was shared, however, that copy is not under UNCHAIN, Inc.'s control. Ending sharing does not recover what has already reached them.
The same applies to data sent to an external service through an integration. Disconnecting the integration leaves data at the destination, which has to be deleted there.
If something is not working
- There is no sharing item in settings: the sharing scope setting is in the desktop app (macOS / Windows); the web version has no such setting. If it is missing in the desktop app too, an Enterprise administrator may have set a workspace-wide ceiling. Check with your administrator.
- I changed the default but existing notes are still public: on the free, Personal and Team plans, changing the default is not retrospective. Change existing notes one at a time.
- The person I shared with cannot open it: with “within the workspace”, they have to authenticate with a workspace email address. To show it to someone outside the organisation, use a named invitation.
- “Anyone with the link” is not offered: the Enterprise workspace setting has “restricted access” or “within the workspace only” as its ceiling. Scopes beyond the ceiling do not appear as options.